September 01, 2018

I love Lake Superior, but every so often a story pops up that shows just how harsh and cruel the lake can be. This past Thursday a father and mother took their three young kids kayaking in the Apostle Islands area and by the next morning, only the mother had survived. It's a heartbreaking story. The family went into the water when their kayak capsized and despite the best efforts of rescuers, the father and three children probably succumbed to hypothermia within hours. All were wearing life jackets.

There are times when Superior can be seductive, smooth as glass with a warm sun beating down. That can change with astonishing speed. Being caught far from shore in a human-powered craft can very quickly turn into a very dangerous situation. Even good-sized motorboats can suddenly be at serious risk if the weather turns and the engine fails. I do not wish to add to the family's grief, but obviously a bad decision was made last Thursday.

Everyone should respect Lake Superior's ability to kill. Most of us should just plain fear it. That doesn't mean you can't enjoy it, it doesn't even mean you can't boat on it. Just be careful of the conditions, who you go out with, and take a measure of their ability to monitor and avoid getting into dangerous situations. Because Lake Superior will kill you if you give it the chance.

August 26, 2018

Kevin Williamson has po'd me more than a few times over the last two years, but he has a gem over at NRO today:

Perhaps we should consider the philosophical maxim of Raylan Givens: “If you get up in the morning and you meet an a**hole, you met an a**hole. If you meet nothing but a**holes all day, you’re the a**hole.”

August 13, 2018

Juan Williams has a piece in The Hill today, another of those "isn't Trump awful for the way he treats journalists?" kind of pieces. I was just about to quit reading it when I came across this:

Trump started his attacks on the media during his 2016 presidential campaign. Supporters at his rallies were heard shouting the word “Lügenpresse” at reporters. “Lügenpresse” is a German phrase that translates as “lying press” in English.

It was popularized by Hitler’s Nazi party to fire up crowds against reporters who covered the demagogue’s rise to power.

Well, that's not good. But then I couldn't recall that happening, so I went in search of some video of that, thinking there must be some out there if it actually was a thing.

Initially, Google gave me about a dozen results in English. About a half dozen cited a tweet from Rosie Gray that had a 23 second video clip of a couple of guys using the word at a Trump rally in Cleveland, October 22, 2016. They do not appear to be threatening or sinister. You can officially call me underwhelmed.

But that's not to say that other video does not exist, so searched further and came across piece on Huffpo titled:

Scranton, PA. Thousands of people in a hall hear Trump’s call: “The lying media...” and then it begins. The chant rises: “Lügenpresse! Lügenpresse! Lügenpresse!”

My 16 year old said: “Did I just hear that? Did that just happen?” Yes, it did. Lügenpresse is German for lying media. It’s a classic Nazi dog whistle, straight out of Hitler rallies of the early 1930s. It has been a feature of so many of his rallies, once he started looking for people to blame, other than himself, for his slide in the polls. It has grown louder and louder as we approached the election. Nazi chants in an American Republican presidential rally. Not shunned. Endorsed.[emphasis his]

Hmmm. The post is dated 11/10/2016 and Trump indeed was in Scranton for a rally 11/7/2016, the day before the election. There's video of that event and I watched Trump's portion of it this afternoon.

If “Lügenpresse! Lügenpresse! Lügenpresse!” can be found in that video, I missed it. It's possible that it was edited out. It's possible that it happened in a different venue. It's possible that, like a game of "telephone," what happened in Cleveland morphed into something larger but untrue. What do know is all I heard were boos and chants of "CNN sucks" several times.

If anyone can point me to clear evidence that this has happened somewhere I would very much appreciate it. I suspect, however, that no such evidence exists. Like the false charge that Tea Partiers shouted racial epithets at John Lewis and Andre Carson during a protest, no video evidence will be forthcoming. If that turns out to be the case, how ironic that Juan Williams has used fake news to decry Donald Trump's attack on fake news.

August 12, 2018

It appears that the "Unite the Right2" rally has ended peacefully in Washington DC. The police successfully escorted the small band of about 20 people that Jason Kessler assembled to Lafayette Park, kept counter-protesters away while they held their rally, and then snuck them out in vehicles as black clad antifa morons stood in the rain hoping to kick some white nationalist ass. Oh well. Hopefully foiled antifa thugs are not taking their frustrations out on innocent windows and trash receptacles.

I don't know which is more pathetic, Kessler's sad little group or the massive overreaction to it. It should be obvious by now that there is no real constituency for white nationalism in the nation as a whole or the GOP in particular. Antifa and other counter-protesters may claim credit for that, but at best they reduced attendance from maybe 100 down to 20. There is no constituency of any significance for white nationalism

Kudos to the DC police for ensuring that Kessler and company were able to exercise their First Amendment rights today. I have no doubt that thugs among the counter-protesters would have used violence to prevent that. Would have eagerly used violence. White nationalism is an ugly thing, but so is any ethnic nationalism. But in this country we don't ban speech we don't like, we counter it with more speech. That's what peaceful counter-protesters did by exercising their free speech rights today, even though I think it was to an absurd degree.

Was it a long-overdue crackdown or a conspiracy of censorship? That depends on who you ask. The truth -- wait, does that still exist? -- is probably neither. But in a hyper-divisive era, the opaque manner that tech companies enforce their community standards leaves them open to being villainized[sic] by both sides, even those straining at opposite ends of a political tug-of-war.

I've never cared for Alex Jones or his website. I don't remember the topic of the day when I visited it years ago. I do remember that it was treated with a grain of truth then veered wildly off the deep end, and I'm pretty sure I literally scoffed at the result. I haven't gone back, so I have no idea what the content of his website or various podcasts has been like for the last few years. It appears that the main complaints have been about him peddling conspiracy theories, spreading "disinformation," and "hate speech." However, at this point I have not seen any specific posts linked to a specific complaint.

Whether he is guilty as charged or innocent doesn't matter much to me though. As long as it was legal, his speech was just speech. Those companies certainly have the right to determine what content they wish to host or promote, but I think they are making a mistake in trying to satiate the SJW beast. It's not going to stop here. I bet by the time I finish writing this post there will be calls for Jones to get the Daily Stormer treatment and expelled from US web hosts and domain services. And as a comment I read today put it, once they get rid of the craziest guy on the right they'll just go after the next craziest guy and so on, until they run out of the crazy guys and just start working to silence anyone to the right of Bernie Sanders.

Is that paranoid? You tell me. So-called hate speech used to be recognized as something that had to be stomached for the sake of freedom, because in a free society who gets to be the ones who decide what qualifies? Now there are not only calls to suppress such speech, but to do so violently. We've seen that BAMN and so-called Antifa, and others, are militant in their belief that speech they don't like must be violently suppressed. And we've seen, and will see again this weekend in DC, the rise of a resistance to them that is willing to respond with violence of their own. Though I reject their ideology, maybe it's best for everyone in the long run that they do.

Perhaps things will settle down for the media giants listed above, but I doubt it. Today they fed Alex Jones to the SJW beast. Who will they throw into the insatiable maw next? None of this is good for our society, none of it.

August 05, 2018

As I'm sure you are aware, Jim Acosta and various other journalists and pundits are up in arms over Trump labeling the news media as "the enemy of the people." Like most things these days(including Trump himself), my thinking is conflicted on that. I know it sucks to be demonized by people with powerful voices, because you never know if some crazy person will be motivated into doing something violent against the targets of the vitriol. Just ask Steve Scalise, his fellow Republican teammates, and the US Capitol Police. On the other hand, as a conservative and Trump supporter, maybe it's not a bad thing for journalists to see what it's like to be on the receiving end. Besides, there's some truth to the label they are being slapped with.

I think most members of the news media, especially in the era of Trump, are unthinking and unprofessional. They are more concerned with maintaining a narrative than in looking for and disseminating the truth. Partly it's the overwhelming pro-Democrat/anti-Republican bias. Partly it's groupthink and a willingness to succumb to hysteria. Partly it's an undeserved sense of superiority. To some extent, all of those permeate every major issue today, not to mention issues of the past, but with the nomination and election of Donald Trump it has become extreme.

Despite my anger and disgust with most journalists these days, I don't want to see any of them hurt. Fired maybe, but not hurt. But I also wish they would stop fueling the anti-Trump/anti-Republican hysteria that just may see some nutjob going after Trump or more Republican Congressmen. Every time they amplify some Democrat politician demonizing Trump and Republicans as racist, fascist, misogynist and on and on they add more potential violence to our society that may be one serious incident from major political violence.

I see zero chance that journalists will do any soul searching and examine their role in creating today's political climate, just as I expect the same from Trump. I see nobody on the national level with either the desire or the ability to steer our discourse back to a more civil tone. It's going to continue to degrade. There is much to criticize Trump for, but the rhetoric against him and those who support him has also become insane.

And I think there's a pretty good chance that some crazy person is listening, and making plans.

June 18, 2018

Richard Painter is arguably the most Trump deranged of all of Minnesota's public figures. Al Franken gave Painter a run for his money for awhile, but he didn't have the stamina to hang with him and since the #MeToo movement drove Franken from the stage he's no longer in the same class. Painter has decided to switch parties and run for one of Minnesota's US Senate seats in November. Here's his first ad for the campaign:

I'm not sure what impresses the most. The grating voice? The grimly set mouth? That he's stiffer than a pine tree? I know...it's the serial killer eyes.

Painter only garnered 17% of the delegates at the recent DFL convention compared to 74% for Tina Smith(currently serving in place of Al Franken). What he has going for him most is his white-hot Trump hatred. That may get him some significant support from the Bernie backers in Minnesota, but it's doubtful that's enough to overcome the DFL establishment.

“One way you get rid of Donald Trump is a crashing economy, so please bring on the recession. Sorry if that hurts people, but it’s either root for a recession or lose your democracy.”

I'm tempted to leave it at, "You want more Trump? This is how you get more Trump," but there's more here that needs to be said.

Casually saying "Sorry if that hurts people" is obviously a "sorry, not sorry and I don't give a shit about the people who will be hurt" attitude. This coming from an asshole who reportedly makes $10 million per year and is currently worth as much as $100 million. Why the hell should he care about a recession? It's not like it's going to hurt him. Hell, he may even save some money on his house staff and gardeners. But a recession will hurt millions of real people who don't enjoy Maher's cushy lifestyle. Hoping for one is nothing less than despicable.

If our republic(not democracy) were actually at risk there may be something here to discuss, but it clearly is not. Trump is not stomping all over the Congress or the Judiciary. In fact, both branches have been working overtime to counter his initiatives. In response, Trump has sent his jack-booted thugs to round up the recalcitrant judges, elected leaders, and the press by the thousands.

Or not even one.

Let that sink in, Bill. Not even one. Yet you would see millions suffer because...because...because you are essentially nothing more than a crybaby loser who can't accept that your side lost an election. And every last one of your fans are crybaby losers the same as you.

June 05, 2018

An anonymous -- and fraudulent -- hostage-situation emergency call to the Broward County Sheriff's Office resulted in a Coral Springs Fire rescue team racing to the family home of Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg.

A local TV station reported that "Hogg was not home at the time of the incident and is currently in Washington, DC with his mother to accept the RFK Human Rights award."

People have been killed when SWAT teams show up out of the blue and as others have noted, the ones who do this crap should be charged with attempted murder. Because that's what it is.

November 12, 2017

My oldest son, wrestling with a 4-year-old’s happy struggles, is trying to clarify how many people can be his best friend. “My best friends are you and Mama and my brother and …” But even a child’s joy is not immune to this ominous political period. This summer’s images of violence in Charlottesville, Va., prompted an array of questions. “Some people hate others because they are different,” I offer, lamely. A childish but distinct panic enters his voice. “But I’m not different.”

It is impossible to convey the mixture of heartbreak and fear I feel for him. Donald Trump’s election has made it clear that I will teach my boys the lesson generations old, one that I for the most part nearly escaped. I will teach them to be cautious, I will teach them suspicion, and I will teach them distrust. Much sooner than I thought I would, I will have to discuss with my boys whether they can truly be friends with white people.

What a load of crap. Apparently the election of Trump means you just can't trust those white folks.

One of the things that bothers me the most about our political discourse these days is just how blatant so many people are in their bigotry, and I'm not talking about Trump and his supporters. I'm talking about people who, in their anti-Trump hysteria, think nothing of falsely smearing tens of millions of people they have never met and know little or nothing about. The piece at the Times is just another in an endless string of examples.

I wasn't quite 7-years-old when Martin Luther King was assassinated in 1968, but by that time two important concepts had been firmly established in my mind by the most important influences in my life: Parents, church, and school. And those two concepts were:

We are all children of God, created in his own image, and when you commit indignities upon any part of humanity you sin against God.

We must approach and deal with people based on the content of their character, not on superficial traits like the color of their skin.

I didn't find those difficult concepts then and I don't find them difficult today. And in a civil society they should be applied equally to all. I think my life has been better because of those beliefs instead of suspicion and distrust, and I am quite certain that the writer's children would be better served by them as well.

One fourth of the tombs at Romagne-sous-Montfaucon's Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery and Memorial were lit by candle, in preparation for the 2018 centenary, when every single one of the tombs holding the remains of some 14,264 Yanks (called "les [Uncle] Sammies" by the French) who went over there in 1917 and 1918 will be lit.

November 11, 2017

My thanks to my fellow veterans, including my dad and younger sister. Especially to those who have endured physical and emotional sacrifices in the service of this great nation.

I signed up in 1983 and was a little older than your average recruit at 22. I will never forget that first wake up as a member of the US Army.

Nobody warned me in advance, but the army screwed with my head from the very start. You see, they told me to report to their downtown Minneapolis facility early in the morning of the day I was to travel to Fort Leonard Wood for basic training. Mom dropped me off at 6:00 A.M. Then they had me wait on a bench until it was time to go to the airport, which was 4:00 P.M. Yep, "Intro to Hurry Up and Wait 101."

Then it was the flight to St. Louis and another hour or two wait on the bus as the last of the inductees arrived and boarded. By the time the convoy of buses arrived at Leonard Wood it was midnight, and the hundreds of clueless young men had no idea what they were walking into. However, the NCOs who greeted us were very nice. They politely got us in line and led us through a chow line where we received a couple of cheeseburgers, some fries, and milk or water. We filled some paper forms, were gently told we're in the army now, and received a number that we were supposed to remember. They issued some linens and a blanket and found everyone a bunk and about 3:45 A.M. they turned out the lights after telling us we could get a few hours of shuteye since it had been such a long day.

The lights they turned on and the trash can they hurled down the length of the barracks 15 minutes later were a rude awakening. The screaming NCOs yelling for us to get dressed and line up on the dark road outside were terrifying. We were 170 disoriented and frightened civilians trying to remember the number we had been given a few hours before and get in the proper order as some unseen asshole with a bullhorn shouted at us from the dark embankment above and men in Smokey the Bear hats appeared out of nowhere to heap verbal abuse on us and question the chromosomal heritage we had received from our parents.

I remember standing there in the dark and humid, early August Missouri morning, miraculously and correctly positioned between #33 and #35, and thinking I had made the worst mistake of my life.

It didn't take me long to figure out that the intimidating drill instructors were not actually the enemy. The truth was they were there to make us succeed and not fail. Succeed on their terms, of course, but succeed nonetheless.

I made no great sacrifices while I was in the US Army and in fact received many benefits from serving. Joining the army changed me from a pot-smoking slacker into a young man with a skill that I could turn into a career. I'm glad I enlisted and proud that I served. I would encourage any young man or woman to think about doing the same.

November 09, 2017

Can anyone explain why the first floor would be numbered 01, 02...and the second floor 101, 102... and the third floor 201, 202...? Wouldn't you get tired of telling people stuff like, "My apartment is 201, but it's on third floor"?

I think Salena Zito had the best insight of 2016 when she wrote this about Trump in The Atlantic, six weeks before the election:

"The press takes him literally, but not seriously; his supporters take him seriously, but not literally."

It's all about good will and benefit of the doubt. Trump supporters see good will in his heart and so they give him the benefit of the doubt when he mangles some statement or acts outside the boundaries of other presidents in modern times. Trump haters have decided that he brings malice and stupidity and so they give him the benefit of the doubt on nothing. How we got to this point and why we are still here a year after is the topic of another post, but I think this is where we are at.

Hillary Clinton on Wednesday warned President Trump against ignoring — and undercutting — State Department officials, saying that doing so would ultimately make the United States "weaker."

"He's just flying blind," Clinton said on NBC's "Late Night With Seth Meyers."

"And you know, he doesn't listen to people — he undercut his own secretary of State about diplomacy on the North Korea problem."

"I think it weakens us. I think it gives a lot of aid and comfort to these leaders of countries that are trying to frankly take advantage of us during this time when we don't seem to have a particular strategic understanding of our role in the world."

Clinton is referring to when Trump told Tillerson that he was "wasting his time" trying to negotiate with North Korea.

If your perspective is that Trump is an idiot and/or evil then it's not hard to come to the conclusion that Trump is "flying blind" and "undercut" Tillerson and isn't it all so awful that Trump is president. However, since I'm not blinded by Trump hate, I think it is quite obvious what Trump is doing and it is neither stupid nor evil.

Trump is a dealmaker and he has brought negotiating tactics and skills from his business experience into the North Korea situation, among others. In simple terms, he's playing "bad cop" to Tillerson's "good cop," though it is much more complicated than that. The national interests of the US, Russia, China, North Korea, South Korea, Japan are directly at stake, not to mention the region as a whole. There are many pieces on the chess board and Trump and his team are working hard to maneuver them for maximum leverage. Playing bad cop is just a part of that negotiating dance.

Tillerson, McMaster, Mattis, and Kelly are not fools. They have spent much of their lives studying history and strategy while serving the United States for decades. To think that Trump is flying blind with them at his side is either stupid or egregious cynicism from someone who knows better. It remains to be seen if their effort to end North Korea's nuclear capability will get anywhere, but they deserve our thanks for trying and our prayers that they succeed.